LF deputy leadership election, 2015
The Lovian Future deputy leadership election, 2015 is an upcoming election to elect the deputy leader of Lovian Future. The election was triggered on June 9th 2015, by the resignation of Gabriel Kovac from his position, and is expected to be held in early July 2015. Kovac cited personal differences with the party as his reason for resignation, as well as a desire to focus on grassroots politics in Oceana. After a campaign which saw Sarah Lambert and Liam Mitchell as the leading contenders, a surprise surge in support for Owen Janssen in the final days of the campaign led to his victory. Lambert was eliminated in the first round of voting, winning the fewest first preference votes. The ensuing second round was then won by Janssen. Procedure As the deputy leadership election is the first of its kind within Lovian Future, the procedure for the contest was announced at the party conference on June 13th. It was also decided that, in order to be eligible to run in the election, all candidates had to have been members of the party for at least two months, and to be nominated by at least 90 members of the party. *'Sunday 14th June'- Nominations open *'Sunday 21st June'- Nominations close *'Tuesday 23rd June'- Hustings to take place *'Friday 26th June'- Voting period begins *'Friday 3rd July'- Voting period closes, results are announced Candidates Declared *Sarah Lambert- MOTC and former Minister of Family, Youth and Elderly. Lambert is seen as being in the party's democratic socialist faction, and is renowned for her work as a feminist author and commentator. Lambert was the party's only MOTC to vote in favour of Anna Maria Whithdonck-Malsky's socialist tax proposal, and remains strongly opposed to LF entering coalition with the CCPL, instead favouring a strong electoral alliance with parties such as United Left, the Green Party, and perhaps even CPL.nm. Lambert declared her candidacy on June 14th, making her the first candidate to do so. *Liam Mitchell- MOTC and incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs. Seen as one of the party's more moderate senior members, and known for his advocacy of social liberalism and economic centrism. Mitchell has a background in academia, and believes that the party should position itself at the centre of the Lovian political spectrum, making it able to work with most of Lovia's mainstream political parties. Mitchell was the second to announce his candidacy. *Owen Janssen- A somewhat contentious candidate, as despite his lack of congressional experience, Janssen has nevertheless chosen to run for the position of deputy leader . Janssen was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2015 Sylvanian local elections, and is known as one of the strongest advocates of republicanism within the party. Declined *Priya Mehra- MOTC, and a close ally of Katie Conroy within the party. Mehra argues that her centre-leftist, progressive political positions make her able to unite both factions of the party, unlike Liam Mitchell and Sarah Lambert. Despite this, some believe that her lack of ministerial experience will hinder her chances, as well as the fact that she is not as visible a figure in the party as either Lambert or Mitchell. On June 17th, Mehra ended such speculation by confirming that she would not be standing in the deputy leadership election. Mehra endorsed Liam Mitchell, amid concerns that her candidacy would have divided the party's moderate leftist vote. *Benjamin Hughes- MOTC, chose to endorse Sarah Lambert *Jason Quinn- MOTC, endorsed Liam Mitchell Campaign Campaigning for the election commenced on June 14th, the first day that candidates could file nomination papers. Sarah Lambert, an MOTC and outspoken leftist within the party, was the first to announce her candidacy for the election. Lambert announced her deputy leadership bid at a rally in Sofasi, at which she set out her vision for the party. Lambert pledged to campaign for leftward shift in LF's ideology, as well as signalling her support for closer ties with leftist parties such as United Left, the Green Party and the CPL.nm. Lambert, who was one of the party's strongest supporters of the Whithdonck-Malsky I Government, criticised the party leadership for voting down Whithdonck-Malsky's socialist tax proposal, and promoted her record as a strong advocate for the party's influential social democratic faction. Meanwhile, Liam Mitchell, incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced his run for the deputy leadership that afternoon in Charleston, where he was participating in a rally for the party's campaign in the Sylvanian local elections. Mitchell promised to help make LF a strong voice for progressivism and equality throughout Lovia, whilst pledging to ensure that the party would be able to work with colleagues from across the political spectrum. Mitchell accused fellow candidate Sarah Lambert of pandering to the rise of the CPL.nm, and emphasised the need for Lovian Future to remain loyal to its values of social democracy and liberalism. Mitchell also attempted to portray himself as a sensible and experienced leader, arguing that the outspoken and often controversial Sarah Lambert would only further divide leftists in Lovia should she be elected. Concluding the events of the day, Owen Janssen confirmed a deputy leadership run whilst speaking at a speech for his local election campaign in Noble City. Janssen spoke of a need for the party to place a greater emphasis on republicanism, and the party's "duty" to be a strong voice to oppose the social policy of Lovia's conservative Christian bloc. Janssen was outspoken in his criticism of Liam Mitchell and Sarah Lambert, arguing that rather than choosing an MOTC as deputy leader, it should instead seek a fierce local activist such as himself, in order to keep the party in touch with the concerns of its grassroots members. Despite this, there were concerns within the party that Janssen lacked the experience to take on the role of deputy leader. On June 15th, campaigning was somewhat overshadowed by the death of Vladek Przwalsky, and the declaration of local election results in Sylvania. Liam Mitchell appeared at a town hall style session in Newhaven, where he took questions from party members. At the session, Mitchell denied allegations that deputy leadership rival Sarah Lambert contributed to Przwalsky's death by opposing his membership of Lovian Future. Meanwhile, in Sylvania, Owen Janssen was dogged by suggestions that he should withdraw from the contest, given his failure to be elected in Sylvania's local elections. Sarah Lambert would later react to Lovian Future's poor local election results by saying it was a clear signal that the party needed to send a "stronger and more positive leftist message". Lambert also dismissed claims that she had somehow contributed to the suicide of Vladek Przwalsky. June 16th saw the three candidates that have thus far declared their candidacies coming head to head for the first time. Lambert, Mitchell and Janssen all appeared on Hugo's Breakfast Table, where the candidates presented their visions for the party to Hugo Mendes, before debating each other. Much of the debate was dominated by Sarah Lambert and Liam Mitchell's passionate discussion about the party's ideology. Lambert argued that the party should pursue a more broadly leftist platform, and described the party's support for Lukas Hoffmann's taxation bill as "a huge mistake". Meanwhile, Mitchell warned LF supporters not to be wooed by Lambert's proposal that the party join the "existing herd of leftist parties, that seem to offer either weak, unimaginative democratic socialism, or communist-inspired chaos". Mitchell said that, with him as deputy leader, the party's platform would be a "winning combination of socialism and liberalism, offering neither the extremism of the CPL.nm, nor the out of touch social conservatism of the CCPL". Some pundits felt that Owen Janssen faded into the background during this first debate, although Janssen did manage to attract some attention with his suggestion that the party should adopt a new name, that "better represents the values we so passionately represent". On June 17th, Priya Mehra, a notable LF MOTC ruled herself out of the election. Mehta cited concerns that she would have divided the party's moderately leftist vote between herself and Liam Mitchell, potentially leading to Sarah Lambert winning in the election. In the days after Mehra's announcement, support for Mitchell in the opinion polls began to increase, signalling that his candidacy was attracting support from Mehra's former backers. Meanwhile, Sarah Lambert spent the day campaigning in Noble City, where she blamed the party's failure to pick up any council seats in the region on the party's relatively centrist policy, compared to leftist parties that were more successful in the city's local elections. Owen Janssen spoke at a rally in Portland, where he denied that he was the underdog of the election, and advocated closer links with trade unions, and a promise to be a strong voice in the party for environmental legislation. Liam Mitchell, meanwhile, was on the campaign trail in Sofasi, and spoke of the need for LF to be more open to co-operation with other parties from across the political spectrum. Despite this, Mitchell told party activists that he felt any deals with the CCPL should be limited to local council coalitions, and support for centre-leftist economic legislation in Congress. Mitchell said that as deputy leader he would continue to oppose CCPL policy on women's and LGBT rights, although he argued that it is important for the party to view the CCPL as "constructive partners on economic and environmental issues". Campaigning continued the next day with Sarah Lambert speaking in Oostermond, speaking to trade unionists and party members, where she called for a "progressive alliance of Lovian leftists". Lambert went on to criticise the co-operation of LF councillors in the region with CCPL and SNP members. Meanwhile, Liam Mitchell travelled to Kinley, where, in response to Lambert's newfound success in the opinion polls, he downplayed suggestions that he would look to enter formal coalitions with the CCPL and other conservatives. Mitchell asserted that "the future of our party will always be on the left of Lovia's political spectrum". On June 19th, all three candidates came head to head at a town hall style debate in Newhaven. Owen Janssen attracted significant attention after he promised to include a referendum on Lovia's monarchy as a condition of any future coalition agreement. Liam Mitchell attempted to present himself as a candidate of "stability and seriousness", stating that the outspoken, often controversial approaches of his rivals would "drive the party to wreck and ruin". This was in response to several opinion polls which had begun to produce a narrow lead for Sarah Lambert's candidacy. Lambert responded by arguing that her outspoken style brings a "fresh approach" to politics, and that she is the only candidate that is "asking the questions the voters want to hear". Despite this, Lambert was booed by some members of the audience (particularly supporters of Liam Mitchell) after describing the party in its current state as "uncommitted at best, at worst a betrayal of leftist values", after councillors in East Sylvania chose to enter a local governing coalition with members of the CCPL and SNP, causing the party to be declared "reactionary scum" by CPL.nm councillors. Opinion polling Category:Election Category:Leadership election